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Ghost gives you two ways to publish a blog: Ghost(Pro), a managed service where Ghost runs the server for you, or the free, open-source Ghost software installed on a VPS that you maintain yourself. Choose managed hosting if you want to start writing quickly; choose self-hosting if you need server-level control and are comfortable handling Linux administration, updates, backups, SSL and email delivery.
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This guide walks through both choices, then gives a practical Ubuntu installation path for a gaming blog, including DNS, database, Node.js, Ghost-CLI, themes, publishing and newsletters.
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Choose your Ghost hosting route first
Your hosting decision determines almost every later task. Both routes use the same Ghost publishing interface, but their costs and responsibilities are different.
| Factor | Ghost(Pro) | Self-hosted Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| What you receive | Ghost software, hosting, infrastructure and routine platform operations from Ghost | The Ghost software; you provide and administer the server and supporting services |
| Setup effort | Create an account, choose a plan and connect your domain | Provision a VPS, configure DNS, install system packages, NGINX, MySQL, Node.js, Ghost-CLI and SSL |
| Recurring cost | Subscription priced by member tier; Ghost(Pro) is paid-only and no free tier was reported | VPS, backups and any separate email-delivery service; the Ghost software itself is free and open source |
| Maintenance | Ghost handles the platform maintenance | You handle Ghost updates, operating-system updates, backups, SSL renewal, monitoring and recovery |
| Control | Less infrastructure control, with a simpler operating model | More control over the server, deployment and custom integrations |
When Ghost(Pro) is the better fit
Use Ghost(Pro) when your priority is publishing rather than operating a server. It is the practical choice for a small editorial team that does not already manage Linux systems, databases and mail infrastructure. You avoid configuring NGINX and MySQL, and you do not need to plan your own patching or backup routine.
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When self-hosting is worth the work
Self-hosting makes sense when you want direct control of the machine, a custom deployment or the ability to tune the stack yourself. It is not “free hosting”: a VPS, storage, backups and email delivery still cost money, and downtime or a missed update becomes your responsibility.
What a Ghost blog needs
For a self-hosted installation, Ghost’s Ubuntu requirements list the following baseline:
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- NGINX 1.9.5 or newer.
- A supported Node.js version.
- MySQL 8.0 or 8.4.
- systemd.
- At least 1 GB of memory.
- A registered domain name.
These are minimum platform requirements, not a performance guarantee. A busy site, image-heavy archive or publication with many simultaneous visitors may need more memory and storage. Keep the operating system, database and Ghost installation on supported versions rather than treating the minimum as a target for every workload.
Resolve the Node.js version before installing
The official requirement is expressed as “a supported version of Node.js,” so check Ghost’s current support page for the release you intend to install. A third-party Ubuntu 24.04 guide says Ghost 6.x requires Node.js 22 LTS, while another third-party claim mentions Node.js 22 or 24 LTS. Those claims conflict and are not a substitute for the official compatibility list. Do not choose a Node.js major version solely because it is the newest one available from your distribution.
Estimate the cost before you commit
Self-hosting has a lower software cost but a larger operations burden. One third-party guide estimates that a small VPS costing about $5–$7 per month is enough for one site. That is an indicative figure, not a capacity promise: provider limits, backups, traffic and media storage can change the total.
Third-party pricing pages have reported the following Ghost(Pro) figures, but Ghost.org was not checked for this article. Treat them as indicative and verify the current plan names, member limits, billing period and regional taxes before purchasing:
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| Reported plan or offer | Indicative price | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Entry Ghost(Pro) plan | About $15 per month | Reported for annual billing and 1,000 members; some pages list about $18 per month when billed month to month |
| Publisher | About $29 per month | Reported for annual billing by third-party pricing pages |
| Business | About $199 per month | Third-party report; verify current inclusions and limits |
| Small self-hosted VPS | About $5–$7 per month | Third-party estimate for one site; excludes backups, email delivery and your time |
For a self-hosted gaming blog, budget separately for off-server backups and transactional or newsletter email. A VPS bill alone does not provide reliable bulk-mail delivery.
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Route A: start a blog with Ghost(Pro)
Ghost(Pro) removes the server work. The exact screens and plan limits can change, but the workflow is straightforward.
- Choose a current Ghost(Pro) plan. Confirm the member allowance, staff users, storage, newsletter features and billing terms on Ghost’s official pricing page. Remember that the figures above are third-party reports, not a guaranteed current price.
- Create the publication. Enter the publication name, choose its initial address and create your owner account with a strong, unique password.
- Connect a custom domain. Ghost will provide the DNS records required for your domain. Add those records at your domain registrar, wait for DNS propagation and then complete domain verification in Ghost.
- Configure publication settings. Set the title, description, language, timezone, publication icon and social sharing defaults in the admin area.
- Select and customise a theme. Start with a responsive theme, set your logo and accent colours, and preview it on a phone before publishing. A gaming site should make categories such as news, reviews and guides easy to reach without burying the article text.
- Create your first post. In the editor, add a clear headline, a short introduction, the article body, images with useful alt text and tags. Preview the post, check the URL slug and publish immediately or schedule it.
- Test the public site. Open the homepage, navigation, an article, the author page and the newsletter form in a private browser window. Confirm that the custom domain uses HTTPS and that share previews show the intended title and image.
With managed hosting, Ghost operates the underlying service. You still own editorial tasks: choosing a theme, setting permissions for staff, checking links, moderating comments or memberships if enabled, and maintaining a dependable publishing workflow.
Route B: self-host Ghost on Ubuntu
The following sequence follows the official Ubuntu requirements and Ghost-CLI approach. Run administrative commands with sudo, use a dedicated non-root account for the site, and keep a copy of every credential you create in a secure password manager.
1. Provision the VPS
Select a VPS with Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 or 26.04 and at least 1 GB of RAM. Assign a static public IPv4 address if your provider offers one. Record the server’s address, root or initial administrative credentials, and the region in which it is hosted. Restrict SSH access to the administrators who need it and enable the provider’s firewall controls before exposing the web server.
2. Create a suitable administrator account
Use a dedicated sudo-capable account for the Ghost installation. Do not create a system user named ghost; Ghost’s official installation guidance warns that this name conflicts with Ghost-CLI. The account can have another descriptive name, such as one associated with your publication or deployment role.
3. Point DNS before running the installer
At your DNS provider, create an A record for the domain or subdomain you will use and point it to the VPS address. Do this before installing Ghost. SSL configuration is part of the web setup, and the installer needs the domain to resolve to the server when it attempts to configure HTTPS.
Wait until the record resolves publicly. If you are using both the apex domain and www, decide which one is canonical and plan a redirect for the other rather than serving two separate copies of every article.
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4. Install Ghost-CLI
Ghost-CLI is the command-line tool used to install and manage Ghost. Install it globally with:
sudo npm install ghost-cli@latest -gUse a Node.js release supported by the Ghost version you plan to install. If npm reports a compatibility error, stop and resolve the Node.js requirement instead of forcing the installation with an unsupported runtime.
5. Run the Ghost installer
Change into the directory where the site will live and run:
ghost installThe installer asks for site details and configures the application, database connection and web server. An older Ubuntu 18.04 guide describes Ghost-CLI configuring NGINX as a reverse proxy and obtaining a Let’s Encrypt certificate during setup. Current prompts and flags can differ, so follow the prompts shown by the installed Ghost-CLI version and consult the current official installation documentation if a question is unclear.
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6. Finish the administrator setup
Open the admin URL printed by the installer, create the owner account and sign in. Set a long password and enable multi-factor authentication if the available Ghost version and account configuration provide it. Add staff accounts individually with the least permission each person needs; do not share the owner login.
7. Check the installation from the outside
- Visit the public domain over HTTPS from a different network.
- Open the admin route and confirm that assets load without mixed-content warnings.
- Publish a private test post, view its preview and then delete it.
- Check that the canonical URL uses the domain and protocol you selected.
- Inspect the server clock and timezone so scheduled posts run when you expect.
Configure a gaming publication after installation
Set the publication identity
In Ghost’s settings, define the publication name, description, logo, icon, language and timezone. Keep the description specific: tell readers whether the site focuses on game guides, hardware, reviews, esports or industry news. A focused description helps visitors understand the site before they read an article.
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Choose a theme that supports long guides
Test the theme with a real article rather than judging only its demo page. For a games site, check that it can display:
- Large feature images without pushing the headline below the fold.
- Readable body text and code formatting for configuration guides.
- Tables, captions and responsive images.
- Author information and publication dates.
- Tag or category navigation that does not overwhelm the header.
- Fast loading on a phone using a normal mobile connection.
Keep custom theme changes in version control or document them. A theme update can overwrite untracked edits, and a hand-edited production file is difficult to reproduce after a server failure.
Design the editorial taxonomy before publishing
Use a small, stable set of tags such as Reviews, Guides, News, Hardware and a game-specific tag when it helps readers browse. Do not create a new spelling or near-duplicate tag for every post. Decide whether a tag is a genuine landing page before adding it to navigation.
Publish the first article
- Open the post editor and write a descriptive headline that says what the reader will learn.
- Add a concise opening that gives the answer or result before background detail.
- Break long guides into headings, lists and tables so they remain scannable.
- Upload a properly sized feature image and write meaningful alt text.
- Set the URL slug, excerpt, author and tags in the post settings.
- Preview desktop and mobile layouts, test every link and confirm that embeds load.
- Publish now or schedule a date and time that matches the site timezone.
Newsletters and email delivery are separate concerns
Self-hosted Ghost can run the publication while newsletter delivery uses an external email service. A third-party self-hosting guide names Mailgun as one example. You must configure the provider’s sending domain, authentication records and sending limits separately from Ghost, and you remain responsible for bounce handling, unsubscribe compliance and sender reputation.
Do not assume that a working website can send a large newsletter directly from the VPS. Shared server IPs may have poor mail reputation, and many hosts restrict outbound SMTP. Start with a verified sending domain and send a test message to several providers before announcing a newsletter.
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Self-hosting transfers operational responsibility to you. Create a written routine rather than relying on memory.
- Back up the database: keep regular MySQL backups and test restoring one on a separate environment.
- Back up media and theme files: a database dump does not replace uploaded images or custom theme assets.
- Store copies off the VPS: a backup on the same disk does not protect against disk failure or a deleted server.
- Patch the operating system: apply security updates during a maintenance window and keep a rollback plan.
- Update Ghost deliberately: read the release notes, verify Node.js compatibility and take a fresh backup before upgrading.
- Monitor capacity: watch disk space, memory, database growth, certificate expiry and error logs.
- Protect credentials: use SSH keys where possible, limit sudo access and never paste database passwords into public issue reports.
Document the domain registrar, DNS provider, VPS account, database credentials, backup location and recovery steps. That information is as important as the server itself when someone else must restore the publication.
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Common setup problems and fixes
The domain does not resolve
Check that the A record points to the VPS address, that you edited the authoritative DNS provider, and that no stale AAAA record sends IPv6 visitors elsewhere. Wait for DNS caches to expire before retrying SSL setup.
SSL issuance fails
Confirm that the domain resolves to this server, ports 80 and 443 are open, and another web server is not already occupying those ports. If you installed before DNS was ready, correct DNS first and rerun the current Ghost-CLI SSL step described in the official documentation.
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Compare your installed Node.js major version with Ghost’s current supported-version list. The conflicting third-party claims about Node.js 22, 24 and Ghost 6.x are a reason to verify compatibility, not to bypass the check.
The installer cannot connect to MySQL
Verify the database name, username, password and host, and confirm that the MySQL service is running. Use MySQL 8.0 or 8.4 as listed in the Ubuntu requirements; do not silently substitute an unverified database engine for production.
Pages are slow after adding images
Resize oversized source images, use modern formats supported by your theme, remove unused embeds and inspect memory and disk usage on the VPS. If resource pressure continues, increase the server capacity before adding more integrations.
Newsletter messages do not arrive
Check the external email provider’s delivery log, domain-authentication records, bounce status and unsubscribe handling. A successful Ghost login or a working website does not prove that the mail service is configured correctly.
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A launch checklist for your first Ghost blog
- Hosting route selected and budget confirmed.
- Domain registered and canonical hostname chosen.
- For self-hosting: supported Ubuntu, NGINX, Node.js, MySQL, systemd and at least 1 GB RAM verified.
- DNS A record resolves before installation.
- Dedicated administrator account created; no system user named
ghost. - Ghost-CLI installed and
ghost installcompleted without compatibility warnings. - HTTPS works on the public domain.
- Owner and staff permissions configured.
- Theme tested on desktop and mobile.
- First post previewed, linked, tagged and published.
- Backups created and a restore procedure documented.
- Email sending domain tested separately if newsletters are enabled.
Which route should you choose?
Choose Ghost(Pro) if you want the shortest path from idea to publication and prefer a subscription over server administration. Choose self-hosting if the control is worth maintaining a VPS, NGINX, MySQL, SSL, backups and email delivery. For most first-time publishers, managed hosting reduces technical failure points; for technically confident owners with a clear maintenance routine, self-hosting provides greater infrastructure control at the cost of your time and operational responsibility.
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